WARREN CONTRACTS

WARREN CONTRACTS
Guilty plea in kickback scheme
Two public officials who received bribes are not identified in the plea agreement.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
and DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
CLEVELAND -- A sentencing date will be set after a background check on a Warren man who has pleaded guilty in federal court to paying two Warren public officials to get city contracts.
James F. Nicolaus, 46, of Hazelwood Drive, was charged with extortion. Conviction for the charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
Nicolaus owned and operated T & amp;J Construction Inc. and J & amp;J Enterprises Inc.
The two public officials, who aren't identified in the 16-page plea agreement, had the power to influence the selection of contractors to perform work for the city, supervise the work of contractors and recommend approval of change orders to the city board of control, according to the government.
From the early 1990s until June 2000, Nicolaus paid kickbacks requested by a public official in exchange for that official's assistance with public contracts in Warren, the plea agreement says.
The official also asked Nicolaus, who agreed to serve as an intermediary, to seek kickbacks from two unidentified contractors for the public official.
"During this period [Nicolaus] paid approximately $100,000 in kickbacks in exchange for contracts for himself and other contractors," the plea agreement says.
The kickbacks involved construction of a new clubhouse at the city-owned Avalon South Golf Course, work at the Warren Community Development building, Warren home rehabilitations, residential and commercial board-ups, and rehabilitation of vacant houses.
Details in document
From December 1995 to September 1996, at a public official's request, Nicolaus created five fictitious invoices for T & amp;J, falsely stating the company had done work for South Main Sand and Gravel.
The now-defunct South Main was owned by Dante Massacci Sr. and his son, Dante Jr., both of whom have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced to prison.
The government says that when South Main paid Nicolaus, he kept some but gave most of the money to the unidentified public official "knowing that such payments were in exchange for" the official's assistance in obtaining contracts for South Main to demolish Mahoningside Power Plant, Warren Music Center and the Sanitary Dairy Building.
South Main was paid a total of about $324,000.
In late 1998 or early 1999, the unidentified public official requested that Nicolaus create a series of fictitious invoices totaling about $70,000 to an unidentified contractor falsely stating that T & amp;J Construction had done work for the contractor.
Nicolaus knew that payments on these fictitious invoices were to cover funds that he would then supply to the public official in exchange for the official's assistance in obtaining the contractor to demolish the Mahoningside Power Plant, the agreement says.
Sometime in 1999, at the official's request, Nicolaus created the first of the fictitious invoices for $7,500. After receiving payment on the invoice from the contractor, Nicolaus kept $1,500, giving the remaining $6,000 to the public official, the agreement says.
Nicolaus was told the official would share the money with a second unidentified public official, the plea agreement says.
sinkovich@vindy.com
denisedick@vindy.com